Powerful PHS golfer makes up for late start

A former baseball player, he turned away from that sport to begin an adventure as a golfer the summer before his freshman year at Poway High in 2016.

“I really didn’t like baseball that much,’’ Vermilyea said. “I played a little golf with my dad and I thought it would be a good sport to take up back then.’’

Now a junior at Poway, Vermilyea would have earned first-team All-Palomar League honors a second time this season were it not for a thumb injury he suffered getting out of a friend’s car.

Golf can be a frustrating sport, especially when you’re starting out at age 13 instead of since earl childhood, like most players he’s teammates with or players he faces on the course.

Vermilyea became devotee to practice to speed up his maturation process.

“I just practiced a lot,’’ he said. “Every day for the last three years I’ve been at the course.’’

Like most golfers, Vermilyea’s short game — putting and wedges — continues to be a work in progress. Only the very elite golfers master that part of the game. What has helped his game immensely is his long game.

Despite being a bit smallish (for a competitive golfer) at 5-foot-11, 143 pounds, Vermilyea is, as the players say, long off the tee. His drives are the best part of his game right now.

“Only a few kids in the county hit the ball further than Caden,’’ Poway coach John Darling said. “We’re trying to control the distances a little better and we want to reduce the hook he has in his swing. But he’s consistently hitting over 300 yards. On a day with no wind, he can be around 335 yards.’’

According to Darling, the power in his swing comes from the intense speed and force he generates with his driver.

Vermilyea has his own theory, and it’s a bit different.

“It’s the grip,’’ he said. “I’m not that big and I don’t work out a lot in the weight room, but I swing very hard.

“I use a baseball grip on the club. It seems to work well enough for me, not everyone else.’’

His drives, Vermilyea said, have prompted a few spectators to approach him to ask how he does that.

“Almost everyone on the PGA Tour has above-average short games,’’ Vermilyea said. “The only guy I can think of who lived and died with a long game and a so-so short game was John Daly, and there hasn’t been anyone like him in a while.’’

Vermilyea continues to work on all phases of his game as his newfound success has allowed him to begin the college recruiting process in earnest this summer.

He will play in the Toyota Tour Camp, a series of tournaments in Southern California every few weeks.

“That will be a lot of focus because college coaches do pay attention to that tour,’’ he said. “Yes, that’s a lot of pressure, but pressure keeps me focused.’’

Added Darling: “Three years from now, he will be one heck of a college player.’’

Vermilyea may not be on a golf course all day, but he figures he will be at Bernardo Heights Country Club at least parts of every day during summer vacation.

“I can work on my short game for at least an hour, hit some drives and maybe play nine holes,’’ Vermilyea said. “When the sun is out, I’m be golfing. When it’s dark, I’ll be doing homework at least through June.

“My parents love that schedule because I have no time to get into trouble.’’